The Swift Sword: Highly Effective Business & Life Management Principle

August 21

One of the most highly effective tactics for managing your life and your business revolves around the use of the principle called the “Swift Sword.”

Quick story:

I launched a new product recently. I invested a nice sum to get it out the door and “test” the waters to see if there was any life to it.

Like any new product being introduced to the market, I wanted to first make sure the market had an interest – the message, market, media match has to be just right in order for it all to come together. Otherwise, you’re pushing water uphill and that’s torture.

You know, you can’t sell orthodontics to someone in dentures, right? No matter how great of a deal you’re offering on the ortho – free, even!

I’ll use a fishing analogy here: So, in this test, I threw everything along with the kitchen sink out there, in the proverbial pond, to see how many fish, I’d catch.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

Ordinarily, in a marketplace I might have been unfamiliar with, I might be tempted to pose questions before pulling the sword from its scabbard: was my message was off, or, the market I was trying to sell to was the issue, or, perhaps, the media was the issue?

In this case, I knew it was all on. It was however, something that has become increasingly difficult to sell to almost any market, which is in my case, the BIGGEST reason for the failure. Your prospect has to want or have an almost innate desire for the results you’re selling – the benefits you promise. Otherwise, it’s a tough row to hoe.

Hence, the use of a razor sharp sword to kill the product. And, it’s an opportunity to use my favorite word when confronted with a temporary roadblock (one every entrepreneur should also use regularly): NEXT.

Is it time for the swift sword in your life/business? It only gets you to where you want to be, that much faster.